13 LIVES

Every once in a while, there comes a movie that overwhelms you. "13 Lives" that I saw the other day was the latest to do that to me.

It is based on a real life incident that happened 4 years ago. Most of us would recall following the news on TV of a massive rescue effort launched to rescue 12 members of a Thai junior football team of boys aged 11 to 16 and their 25 year old Assistant Coach, Ekkaphon Chanthawong, trapped in an underground cave in Chiang Rai Province in northern Thailand. After a practice game on 23 June 2018, the 13 lads decided to go to the Thang Luang Nang Non cave to celebrate the birthday of the oldest team member, carrying cakes, eats and drinks. The boys parked their bicycles at the entrance of the cave and went in. When the boys were inside, it started raining heavily and they were trapped, unable to come out. The cave started flooding and the boys were driven further inside. Thereafter, there was no contact with them for almost 2 weeks. The only clue that they were in the cave was their bikes.

When the boys were reported missing, Thai Naval Seal divers rushed to the site but because of the flooding and currents, were unable to make progress inside the cave. Thai government contacted the British Cave Rescue Council which sent expert divers led by John Volanthen and Rick Stanton, key players in planning and carrying out the eventual rescue.

Till 2nd July when Volanthen and Stanton first made contact with the kids, it was not known if the kids were still alive. When found, they were in a calm but disoriented state and asked what date it was. Communication was also difficult as only one of them spoke English. They asked if they could get out straightaway but were told it would take some more time during which they would be supplied with food and essential supplies.

Back to base, the divers pondered over the problem of getting the boys out. Could they be taught basic underwater diving given that a few didn't know even how to swim (like me!), could a new entrance be drilled, could they wait out the monsoon period still expected to last another couple of months? In all cases, the answer was a big no. 

Stanton then got an idea for which they summoned Dr. Harris, an anaesthesist from Australia. The plan was fraught with danger and both Volanthen's and Dr. Harris' initial reaction was that it was crazy. But as Stanton said, "We do nothing, we'll be bringing out dead for sure. But if they die while we're bringing them out, at least we will have tried." The plan along with the risks involved was revealed to the Thai Provincial Governor who took all responsibilty and gave the go-ahead.

Meanwhile, public concern and commiseration for the young lads drove multitudes of people to the site to help in the rescue effort. It was reckoned that around 10000 experts and volunteers from 25 countries played a part in the rescue which finally ended on 10 July. India was also represented with technical experts from Kirloskar Brothers rendering advice on dewatering and pumps.

All this and more is brilliantly portrayed in the movie "13 Lives" directed and produced by the famous Ron Howard who also directed "Apollo 13" (13 a coincidence?!), and won the Oscar for "A Beautiful Mind". Here is a movie the end of which you know but not the complexities which made escape next to impossible. That is what holds you in a vice-like grip throughout the 140 minutes and keeps you riveted to the screen, at one with the trapped boys and the rescuers. You watch with bated breath as the desperate plan unfolds and keep your fingers crossed for it to succeed. The emotions the movie makes you go through are like a roller-coaster ride.

The acting headed by Viggi Mortenson as Rick Stanton, Colin Farrell as John Volanthen and Joel Edgerton as Dr. Richard Harris is natural and realistic, the underwater cinematography by Sayombhu Mukdeeprom super and the screenplay by William Nicholson tells the story like it is with no melodrama. The dialogue is crisp with a caustic sense of humour. For example, one of the divers discussing the rescue simplifies the plan by stating, "Act like delivery boys handling packages."

There is, however, one aspect that I felt deserved much more emphasis in the movie as well as the accounts I have read. The boys were kept hopeful, calm and disciplined for over two weeks with no contact with the outside world and with limited food and water under the supervision of Ekkaphon. How peace and tranquility was maintained was exceptional. There could have been total desperation, pessimism and mental breakdown but the boys were found in good spirits. When asked who would be the first to be evacuated, there was no rush but, not aware of the massive arrangements, a unanimous decision that he should be the one who stayed farthest from the cave as they thought he would have to cycle all the way back to his home.The boys said the assistant coach made them meditate, chant and pray and kept their hopes alive. He really deserved heaps of praise but ironically, there were some who thought he should be held guilty for leading the boys into the cave in the first place. He himself, an illegal immigrant, had pangs of self-guilt and expected to be blamed. However, to his pleasant surprise, the parents and the boys gave him full credit and no case was made out against him. To top it all, he was granted Thai citizenship.

Watch the movie; it's one of a kind.

P.S. Netflix is coming out with a limited series "Thai Cave Rescue" on 22 September. I eagerly await.